The Accidental Doc-tective
by NattiKay
Summary: Dr. Franc Thibault was having a perfectly normal day, thank you very much, until a young couple, Adrien and Marinette Agreste, come into his office for an ultrasound appointment… Oneshot, set in the future (obviously).


Dr. Franc Thibault had been having a perfectly normal day, thank you very much. No major emergencies, no angry patients or frustrated nurses. Just your average run-of-the-mill day of check-ups and general maintenance. So when a young couple checked in for an ultrasound appointment, he thought absolutely nothing of it.

"This way, please," he said cordially, leading the pair down the hall and around the corner to an empty room. He gestured lightly to the sterile bed near the monitor.

"If you will please lie down here, Mrs…?"

"Agreste," said the woman happily, reaching out to shake the doctor's hand. "Marinette Agreste."

Dr. Thibault raised his eyebrows as he accepted the handshake.

"Dr. Franc Thibault," he introduced. "Now, did you say Agreste, as in Gabriel? The fashion designer?"

"My father-in-law." The woman—Marinette—smiled politely as she said it, but somehow, Dr. Thibault thought, she didn't look particularly thrilled about having a celebrity for an in-law. That, however, he figured was nothing that need concern him, so he merely nodded, turning then to her husband.

"You don't say? My wife is quite a fan of his jewelry line, quite a fan…So then you must be…?"

"Adrien," the man confirmed, taking his turn to sake the doctor's hand. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Thibault."

"Likewise," agreed Dr. Thibault, smiling. "Now let's get started, shall we? How far along did you say you were? Or were you not sure?"

"About 20 weeks," said Marinette, a slender hand gently tracing the curve of her abdomen.

"Oho!" said the doctor jovially, "We might just be able to see if you've got a boy or a girl today. Unless, of course, you'd prefer to wait…?"

"No!" Marinette interjected quickly. "No, we want to know!"

Adrien nodded in agreement, a large and rather dopey grin on his face.

"Very well then," said Dr. Thibault. "Let's just…"

"Franc?"

Three sets of eyes turned towards the doorway, where a nurse poked her head through.

"I'm sorry, are you busy? We've got a patient asking for you; says it's urgent."

"Can he get a different doctor to look at him? I've kind of got some other patients I'm tending to right now."

The nurse bit her lip. "Afraid not, we're rather short-staffed today, if you'll recall…"

Dr. Thibault paused, looking from his patients to his coworker and back again. After a moment, he sighed. She was right.

"Will you two be alright here for a few minutes? I won't be too long, I hope…"

The pair nodded. Dr. Thibault thanked them quietly and followed the nurse out the door.

.oOo.

Not too long later, Dr. Thibault found himself walking right back down the hall to the ultrasound room, rather disgruntled. The "urgent" problem turned out to be not quite so urgent after all—at least, not physically. No, just another cranky old patient complaining about the way the hospital was run, and a bit about whatever diagnosis he'd received the other day. After a rather frustrating chat, Dr. Thibault had managed to convince him that his condition was quite livable so long as it was well-treated, and assured the man that he could always schedule extra appointments if needed. Grumpy, but appeased, the old man agreed to come back tomorrow at a scheduled time to discuss reasonable treatments.

 _Oh, dear,_ Dr. Thibault thought as he moved as swiftly as he could without running, _I hope I haven't left the Agrestes too long…_

But as he neared the room, he heard quiet, but excited voices ring from within. It seemed his patients had been having a pleasant conversation. Ah, good, he thought, at least they don't seem frustrated…

But he halted dead in his tracks as he came close enough to hear exactly what they were saying, just out of sight behind the doorframe.

"Did you hear what the doctor said, Bugaboo?" Adrien was saying happily. "He said today we might just find out if we're expecting a little lady-bug or a little tomcat."

His wife giggled, and from around the corner of the door Dr. Thibault saw her playfully boop her husband's nose.

"I don't think he used those _exact_ words, Kitty," she teased gently.

" _I_ think you need to get your ears checked, my lady," Adrien retorted in a similar tone.

Dr. Thibault knew he shouldn't be eavesdropping on his patients like this. He should just walk right in and continue the appointment as soon as possible. But something about their unusual word choice kept him momentarily frozen.

Were the Agrestes fans of Ladybug and Chat Noir? That in itself wouldn't be so unusual. After all, most Parisians were—himself included. He'd always been fascinated by superheroes as a kid, even wanted to be one when he grew up…though, of course, before Ladybug and Chat Noir came around (long after he'd begun his career), people naturally considered superheroes to be purely fictional, and he'd chosen to become a doctor instead, saving lives with science rather than magic.

Even with the defeat of Hawkmoth some years prior, and thus the end of the onslaught of supervillains that coaxed the heroes out to begin with, they still ventured out for occasional patrols, helping the police stop criminals and assisting civilians in need. Granted, it had been a few months since Ladybug had been spotted, and some fans were wondering if she'd finally decided to retire now that her superpowers were no longer necessary and speculating that Chat Noir might vanish soon as well. Nevertheless, the pair was still known and loved by much of the city.

Still, though, fans or not fans, he'd never heard a couple refer to each other with such…themed nicknames. He certainly hadn't called _his_ wife anything resembling "Ladybug"—that would be simply awkward. Nor she him anything cat-related.

Dr. Thibault shook his head. It wasn't important, he decided. Different couples liked different things, and if they liked celebrity-based nicknames, so be it.

A little odd, though, for a pair who seemed less than thrilled to be directly related to a fashion icon.

The doctor took a deep breath and walked in the door.

"Sorry for the wait," he apologized, two happy heads swiveling to greet him. "Let's get on with this, shall we?"

.oOo.

The appointment went quite smoothly from there. Dr. Thibault informed the couple that they were expecting a baby boy (they grinned those wide dopey grins he so often saw on soon-to-be parents in this room, squeezing each other's hands in glee) and that he was quite healthy, right on track for 20-week development.

Perhaps it was just because the words he'd overheard before had put Ladybug and Chat Noir on his mind, but Dr. Thibault kept finding himself drawn to the odd similarities between his patients and the popular heroes. Marinette's sky blue eyes, twinkling with happiness and she watched her baby move and shift on the monitor screen, and her jet black hair that Dr. Thibault could just imagine pulled back into those iconic pigtails. Adrien's hair, styled more presentably than Chat Noir's but still the same golden blonde, with bright spring-green eyes staring out through a pair of black-rimmed spectacles…

Perhaps it was because of these physical similarities that they used those nicknames?

Before long, the appointment came to a close. Marinette and Adrien thanked Dr. Thibault and took their leave, giggling together as they flipped through the stack of fuzzy ultrasound photos.

He watched them go, still mildly distracted by thoughts of heroes.

And then it _hit_ him. Hard.

20 weeks. 5 months. Ladybug hadn't been spotted on patrol for a few months. About 4 or so.

The nicknames…the eyes…the hair…the timing…

 _Holy crap_ , Dr. Thibault thought, _those internet theorists were right…Ladybug and Chat Noir_ are _a couple! More than that, they're_ married _…they're having a_ kid _…a_ son _! And their names…_

He stared out where his patients had left, though the were now long gone.

 _…_ _are Marinette and Adrien Agreste…_

Dr. Thibault wasn't sure how long he remained in a stunned stupor, staring out past the door. It must have been a decent while, because the nurse who'd fetched him before had to snap him out of it.

"Franc?" she said a bit cautiously, eyeing her coworker with concern. "…are…are you alright?"

It took Dr. Thibault a moment to respond, mouth flapping wordlessly for a moment before finally wheezing, "I need to sit down," and rushing off to the break room.

The nurse and the nearby receptionist glanced at each other in confusion at the display, but ultimately simply shrugged and continued on about their days.

They could talk to him later.


End file.
